


If we only meet again in our dreams...

by dolfabre



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: A little bit of fluff, Angst and Feels, Flashbacks, Gen, Good old angst, Mid-X2, Multi, Two Shot, like at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-15 20:17:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11813448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dolfabre/pseuds/dolfabre
Summary: Elize often has strange dreams and nightmares of things she can't explain, but one hurts more than the rest. Two-shot.





	1. Welcome Back, Elly

It wasn’t very often that Elize had dreams. Or rather, nice, mundane dreams that put her mind to ease. They were always a break from the almost constant flurry of nightmares that seemed to play one after the other, more so taking her back to her past life of being an experiment than anything else. Although they were in fact hazy fragments of her memory that were beginning to return, Elize preferred to play them off as simple dreams and nightmares. It was easier for her to process, at least.

But by the time the young healer had met Ludger and Elle, a new dream has arisen. It had become somewhat common, replaying and replaying in her mind as if on a loop, but it never failed to bring an emotional response. It tugged at her feelings, making her heart ache. It was a fragment of memory, glass shard that slashed on her skin, never failing to draw tears. Elize tried her best to hide it, especially on those nights she shared in an inn room with the others on their travels. If ever she was caught and asked what was wrong, she was always quick in waving off her friends’ worries, claiming the problem to be a bad dream or even a stomach ache. As much as she hated lying, she didn’t want her friends to have to worry about her.

After all, it was never a bad dream, but it always seemed to hurt.

 

* * *

 

 

The dream in question always started with her playing in the snow, running around and laughing. But it was never Elize how she remembered herself; this version of her was much younger and much more carefree. She didn’t clutch onto her pink and purple companion for support, but instead was confident in her surroundings. She didn’t need artes or a booster to protect herself, because she had a family who she knew would protect her at all costs.

“’Tega! I win again!” the younger Elize would always laugh, grinning as she ran into the open space from the place she was hiding. The dress she wore was familiar; it was the same dress that Elize swore to have last worn about a year ago as she journeyed with her friends, but this time with a fleece, hooded cloak worn on the next layer, protecting her from the cold.

The older man playing the little girl’s game simply chuckled in reply. He may have been 5 feet taller than her, but it didn’t stop him from patting her gently on the head. Later in her life, she would know him as ‘Jiao the Immovable’, but for now, he was still Ortega Kitarl. “Indeed, child.”

The child grinned in return, her smile outlined by a minor sense of pride in achievement of winning the game she had set. “Can we play again?”

“I’m afraid not, child. You’ve been outside for a while, and your parents wouldn’t want you coming down with illness again,” Jiao simply reasoned, beginning the short journey back to the house from which they had both came. “Shall we go?”

The younger Elize nodded, hurrying over and taking the hand of the future Chimeriad to whom she began to walk with, singing lyrics she had completely made up on the spot, blissfully unaware as to what could possibly go wrong in the coming months, weeks, days or even hours.

Upon returning, the two were greeted with warm welcomes and whole-hearted smiles by faces that Elize could never fully see or make out. Their faces were often covered with shadows if not blurred beyond all recognition. Their voices always sounded familiar and nostalgic; their voices always sounded warm and inviting, but the same voices never failed to also have a bittersweet element – especially as those voices had not been heard in years. There was no mistaking who this woman and this man were, however, especially as little Elize showed no hesitation in hurrying over to them.

“Mummy! Daddy! Me and ‘Tega played hide-and-seek today,” the young girl began reciting her day excitedly as her mother began to untie her cloak, her green eyes almost glittering with eagerness as she spoke.

“Did you have lots of fun, sweetie?” her mother asked softly, chuckling under her breath as she hung up the small cloak on the hangers by the front door. Ana gave a gentle smile and nod in the way of their house guest before turning back to her daughter. “You must be cold, so sit in front of the fire for a moment, okay, Elly?”

Elize gave a simple nod in relation to the question, before doing what she had been instructed, and sitting before the fireplace. As she watched the fire itself, she supposed it could have been a little scary, but she supposed the element had its benefits; it kept her warm, and it kept her from getting colds all the time.

A blanket very slowly made its way over her shoulders, to which caused the girl to look back, only to recognise her father. Or rather, it was more of something that immediately came to mind – it was something that she knew, rather than recognising his face – which was just as hazy as her mother’s. His voice was comforting, but his words hurt just as much.

“Welcome back, Elly.”


	2. Welcome Back, Elize

It was then to which Elize had awoken to the inn room shared by her, Elle, Milla, and Leia. Tears streaming silently down her face, the stream continuing no matter how many times she had attempted to rub her eyes. The young healer pulled the blankets over her face, deciding to let the tears fall by themselves – after all, they would stop eventually. Daylight had yet to begin its transition from the midnight sky, by thus keeping the droplets on her face a secret to the dark.

And then she would open her green eyes once more, this time to a lightened room, and to tired conversation that was carried around the room by her friends. Thankfully she hadn’t drifted into another dream, or at least, to one she would have to cover up her reaction. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust her friends – Elize simply didn’t wish to create additional worry, especially when they were this close to summoning Origin. And besides, it wasn’t as if she was constantly having nightmares, it was just that the dreams – that began to flood her mind as she slept – had a tendency to hurt her in a way she didn’t have words to explain. At an attempt at an explanation, she would have called them ‘bittersweet’.

 

* * *

 

 

The dreams and nightmares didn’t cease as time went by, as their journey ended, and as more friends had been lost. Instead, the sheer amount had begun to multiply as new dreams resurfaced – nightmares also in tow. The worries of both her dreams and nightmares, the confusion of them being real or even simply dreams, always seemed to lose to her wish to not worry her friends any more than needed. Elle needed her more than ever now – having lost everything she’s ever known and loved, and for Elize, that would always seem to take much more priority than a few nightmares.

With the increased sleepovers and visits to see Elle as she stayed under Jude’s care, it soon became hard to hide her worries about herself, however. If only because Elle herself had begun to uncover the truths that had been carefully hidden from her and the others. It just so happened that when Elize slept, in her most calm and peaceful state (most of the time, anyhow), she was also at her most vulnerable – to which the younger had already made note.

Daylight had begun to filter through the room, a soft light slowly illuminating the end results of what the two girls did the night before. Blankets and pillows were pulled off the small single bed and into the middle of the floor for them to sleep with, as while other blankets lay draped across chairs and other pieces of furniture in a previous (and later, after managing to secure more blankets from Jude, successful) attempt to make a blanket fort. As the morning light began to concentrate and begin to seep through the curtains, both pairs of green eyes began to squeeze shut once more before eventually prising open.

“Good m’rning…” Elize tiredly slurred, lifting her head up from the pillow on which she slept the night before, before yawning softly and giving a smile to her younger friend. Little concern as to what could’ve happened both on her expression and in her mind, in fact, she was rather confident that the night had passed without many problems. “Last night was pretty fun, huh?”

“Morning…” Elle groaned in reply, looking up to where Elize was sitting, not even moving her head from the pillow. Her eyes were still unaccustomed to the light that had begun to surround the two of them in recent hours, but also there was a look of something more. “Yeah, I guess it was pretty fun…” She paused for a second, eventually attempting to prise herself into sitting up before once again turning to her friend. “… It would’ve been more fun if we had more blankets though.”

“We did borrow as many as we could off Jude,” Elize said, adding a slight chuckle into her answer as she spoke.

“The fort could’ve been bigger though. Or maybe, Rollo could’ve had his own fort,” Elle offered in reply almost instantly. “Rollo _is_ the Emperor of Cats after all.”

“I guess Emperor Rollo would never be complete without his own blanket fort… But it’s something we could do next time, if you want? I could even try and bring some blankets with me for the next time I come over.” The young healer once again offered a smile towards the younger, almost begging for there to be a next time.

“That’d be great! Because then Rollo can be the Emperor he truly deserves to be,” Elle said, giving her full approval to the suggestions that Elize had presented. “Then… maybe we should make him a crown too?”

A gentle chorus of laughter erupted in the two, but both girls made sure to keep quiet in their amusement. After all, there was a possibility they would wake up Jude (who could’ve finally fallen asleep in his bedroom or in the living room – most likely doing his research into the early hours of the morning either way), on the off-chance that he had in fact fallen asleep. It was a worry for Elle, Elize – even the rest of their friends in the party, but all them that knew that Jude’s stubbornness could often be a force to be reckoned with. At the very least, they could give him the chance to sleep peacefully until he absolutely needed to wake.

“… are you sure you’re okay though?” the younger asked quietly, her green eyes filled with a sort of knowing; a sort of worry. “I… I mean, if you’re sure you can sleep over again. You have school and stuff to get back to, right?”

As much as it was true, there was something about what Elle had just said that caused the anxiety in Elize to inflate. Something wasn’t right. “Of course I am! And besides, you could always sleep over at mine and Driselle’s place whenever…” Gulping quietly and leaving a moment to pass, she quickly moved the conversation to a simple question as her smile also turned to a light frown in concern. “Are you… sure everything’s okay, Elle? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Elle spent a moment in thought, biting the side of her bottom lip gently before eventually piping up with her thoughts. It may have been her current state of drowsiness filtering through her obstinacy, but the concern that had grown through the night and the morning was just urgent enough to mention. “… Elize, are you okay?”

The young healer pulled a confused look in response to the question. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m fine. I promise.”

“You promise, huh…” the younger girl muttered, holding out her smallest finger. Her eyes looked up to Elize, and her concentration was unwavering. “Can you pinky promise?”

This was when the room fell silent for several moments. Elize was continuously trying to stab through the silence, but for the minutes that had passed, she couldn’t find her voice, nor the courage to lie in confidence to her friend. At the very least, she couldn’t find it within herself to lie specifically to Elle – Elle who had lost everything not so long ago – Elle who had been lied to so much already at this point. She didn’t wish for anyone to know, but losing a friend over something like this was something Elize didn’t wish to risk. It was important, but not important enough to lose one more person over.

“I… I can’t,” Elize simply stated, her head tilting forward slightly, causing her bangs to shadow over her eyes. Her usually cheery voice had taken an almost sad and stoic tone. “I can’t pinky promise you on this, Elle. I’m sorry.”

“Why not?” Elle gave plainly in reply, the finger she held out curling back into her hand, which then fell onto the blanket. A faint look of disappointment has caught her gaze, especially upon realising that Elize had initially attempted to lie to her, even if the final calling on the assurance had been refused. “I get that you might not want to talk about it, but… if you’re not okay, don’t lie about it.”

Elize’s hands grasped the blankets she sat with, her fingers trembling only very slightly with anxiety. The air of confidence – a confidence that was sometimes even faux, had fallen around the person she tried to keep it up around most. For every time she tried to speak once more, no sound would come out. And for the tears beginning to well up in her eyes, she used the back of her wrist and pyajama sleeve to rub them away. Given a moment or two, a voice did shatter the silence – a voice of which Elle wasn’t so sure that she had heard before. “I’m… sorry, Elle. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to worry anyone, especially since…”

There was a pause on the other’s behalf, before she gave a light shrug. “Yeah, I get it. You were talking in your sleep again, and you said some weird stuff. And I’m not gonna force you to talk to me or anything, but just don’t lie to me about it, okay?” She crossed her arms, emphasising her stubborn tone. “I might be a kid, but I’m not stupid.”

Elize gave a light chuckle as she composed herself. The trembling in her fingers had lightened further, and her head gave a small nod. “You’re the smartest, Elle.”

“’Elle yeah, I am!”

The room around them flooded back into a similar laughter as they had erupted in before, and as much as there was still a strain in their volume as they made sure not to be too loud, there was something that felt a little lighter than before. Maybe it was Elize finally getting something off her chest, and Elle being able to confirm that something was wrong. Either way, pressure from both of their chests had felt like it was lifted, as much as worries and anxieties did still remain.

“But… you know you can tell me anything, right?” the younger asked, looking away from the older at last. “I know I’m not much help because I’m a kid, but… I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

Elize’s hand slowly reached over towards the younger’s, before holding and lightly squeezing her hand in assurance. “I promise to tell you when I can find the words to. And… I can promise you won’t lose me.”

“Are you sure you can even promise that?”

“What kind of big sister would I be if I didn’t?”

And for one of the first times since the dreams had begun to haunt her, she felt at ease. Maybe it was the realisation that she wasn’t alone; that the family that had been left in the past and in hazy memories wasn’t the only family she was a part of. Because after all, she was already home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read this, especially to those who've reblogged this on Tumblr, to those who bookmarked, commented and left my kudos. This was a small project for me, but this also brought me back a lot of confidence while writing. So I honestly appreciate everything that everyone has said, and I thank everyone who's given this a chance. Thank you :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to DreamyRequiem for reading the initial draft through for me! ;;


End file.
